Pretty Guardian Sailor Neo Moon
by Your Friend Raichel
Summary: Princess Usagi 'Small Lady' Serenity has come a long way since she first fell out of the sky into old Tokyo, but now new star seeds have awakened in old Tokyo. Usagi must return to the past to investigate, with Diana as her only support. Is she up for the non-specific mission her mother has imparted on her? Maybe with the help of some new allies...
1. Princess Usagi Serenity

Crystal Tokyo glowed softly in the moonlight. The sun had set a while ago, and this early part of the night was the princess's favorite. The stars seemed to speak to her, to calm her, and with the moon this feeling was tenfold. The bright white sphere looked down on her and on the world, and reassured her. Protected her. She wondered if all the sailor guardians felt this for their planets. From her balcony high up in the palace the sprawling city seemed not unlike the stars; full of twinkling lights and reflective surfaces it felt just as alive and mysterious as the far away planets and galaxies in the night sky.

Lost in these thoughts the princess was unaware of her mother entering the room, gentle as a cloud, until the queen was only steps away. She tried not to look startled as she turned to meet her mother's warm smile.

"Hello, Small Lady," she cooed, joining the princess on the balcony.

"Hello, Mama," she responded, letting her head fall down to her mother's shoulder.

"I suppose I shouldn't call you Small Lady anymore," the queen commented, noting how close their heights had become.

"I don't mind," Lady Serenity muttered, the scent of her mother mingling with that of the cool night air. She felt secure and comfortable in this moment.

Her mother wrapped an arm around her. After a moment, the queen went on.

"You know, we think you might have to go away again," she admitted with a soft sigh.

A complicated slurry of emotions rolled over in the princess's gut. Her mother meant, of course, that the princess must return to a time in earth's past, before Crystal Tokyo. Before this secure and magical place they stood.

The past was almost like a second home to her by now, of course, with the love of her parents and their dearest companions waiting for her, but it still wasn't _home_. It was perhaps like going to see a dear relative: comfortable and lovely, but after a while you still felt a little homesick, and were very happy to sleep in your own bed again.

"More training?" the princess prompted.

"Not quite," the queen responded. "it seems some star seeds have taken on a new life back in the twenty first century."

"What does that mean?" she asked, lifting her head and turning to look at the queen.

"It means we'd like you to go back and look into it."

"Why can't you?" the princess asked.

Her mother gave her a somewhat confused look.

"I mean, not, like, You-you, but Past-you. Wouldn't you be interested?"

"At this particular point in time the sailor soldiers have… other things on our minds."

The queen was looking out into the distance, and the princess felt something was being left out, but by the time she mustered anywhere near the courage to ask the queen was already turning to leave.

"All I ask is that you think it over," she concluded. "goodnight, Serenity. Sleep well."

"Good night, Mama."

* * *

Diana leapt up onto the Princess's shoulder as she headed for the time gate. The princess flinched under the feline's weight; Diana had grown up into a sort of lanky, teenage cat, balancing somewhere between a full-fledged adult and the tiny, young thing she had once been. Sort of like the princess.

The cat watched intently as Lady Usagi fished in her pocket, looking for her time key. She slowed to a stop a foot or two from the time door, looking up at the towering mass of planetary stone.

"What's wrong, Small Lady?" Diana piped up.

"Just taking stock," Usagi assured her, "I have the key, clothes, spending money, the information for the apartment… I think I have everything."

"Do you have your compact?" Diana prompted.

"Of course," Usagi assured her, tapping a jacket pocket. A solid 'tak' sound confirmed that the magical artifact was safely stowed away.

"Then you should go through the door, yes?"

"R-right," Usagi accepted. She took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut, kept her destination clear in her mind, clutched her key tight in her fist, and stepped through the door.

When she opened her eyes she was standing in the middle of an empty street. Usagi quickly retrieved the information her father had put together for her from her bag; it included information on the exact time period she had traveled back to, and the apartment she'd need to rent. It took her a moment to really get her bearings, both in time and space, but she confirmed the date—smack in the early 21st century, just as planned—and sped off to find the address on her paper.

Her parents had been very clear that she could no longer stay with Usagi-of-the-past, though they'd neglected to go into real detail of why, with so many other necessary preparations. Regardless, they had both insisted that she leave her future mother and the other guardians alone.

Usagi was glad to get through the rental process without much trouble, and was also relieved to find the apartment reasonably furnished. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard, even without her friends and family of the past to lean on.

She managed to pull together a decent dinner (healthy or not) and turned to sleep as the sun set. Diana curled up at the foot of her bed, and she pulled the covers up, fully intending to drift off to sleep. But as she lay in the silent room the emotion cocktail in the pit of her stomach started to grow and spread, creeping into her thoughts.

She was alone now, and the idea nagged at her mind and drilled down into her heart. She pulled the covers up closer, in a vain attempt to subdue the loneliness, but it wasn't really working. Even the warmth of Diana at her feet didn't do too much to reassure her. She loved the cat, but Diana was so naive. Not a whole lot of help for navigating Tokyo of the past.

Unable to lay still with this feeling in the pit of her stomach, Usagi slunk out of bed, careful not to wake the cat. She tugged on her jacket as she stepped toward the window. It had gotten a little colder in the room since night had fallen. She looked out the window, hoping for some kind of reassurance in the lights of the city, or the stars, but the sky was cloudy and the concrete expanses dull. Apparently most people in this area were already asleep.

How did Makoto and her father manage it? Did they feel lonely like this often?

Still seeking familiarity her hand drifted to her pocket, settling around her compact. As she tried to draw comfort from its shape, her license danced around her hand. She pulled the card out of her pocket, and as one hand returned to the compact the other turned the card over. In the light of a streetlight a block away she could just make out her photo, pink hair standing out against the plain background, an expression just short of an actual smile frozen on her face. She looked over her name for the past:

Shizukesa Usagi.

This was who she was until she completed her mission. This was who she was until she could return home.

Her task seemed abstract and daunting.

She looked out the window once more, unseeing, before turning and settling back into her bed, resigned to battling these emotions from under the covers until she could drift off to sleep.

* * *

Author's note: This fic takes place in an anime/manga canon hybrid. This is a story I wanted to tell, even though it doesn't necessarily match up with canon timelines, so all this story really sets out to do in terms of timelines is to not contradict itself.


	2. Sailor Neo Moon

In the morning Usagi found her thoughts miles away from the turmoil of the night. With sun filtering through the windows, an attempt at breakfast prepared, and Diana chattering excitedly away it was easy to ignore the loneliness, the doubt, and whatever else had kept her up. Usagi had even managed to get her hands on a newspaper.

"Diana," she cut into Diana's latest tangent about a bird she'd seen, "do you think there's a threat here?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think part of the reason Mama sent us is because some new group of monsters or bad guys or whoever is going to threaten Tokyo?" Usagi elaborated, scanning the paper.

"It's possible," Diana acknowledged. "the presence of a challenge has most likely been a factor in your past trips."

Usagi considered the paper: no reports of odd occurrences, not even an odd crime streak. No crime at all. If the aim was to send her back to take someone on, they've missed their mark.

She folded the paper up; enemy or no, it was time to grow up.

The first order of business was to go well and truly grocery shopping, and maybe, if she could, get some more furnishings to make the apartment feel like home. She had four sets of clothes and the ability to clean them, so that could wait. It did not occur to her until she was in the store that she might want to make a budget for herself, so she took only a cursory glance at how much money she had available and gave herself a rough ballpark for her spending - hopefully it would suffice for at least a few days food, and maybe a nice rug. Or a throw pillow.

The streets were both familiar and unfamiliar. She relied heavily on her map of the area. She'd rather be safe than sorry. She was hyper-vigilant, and moved with the lingering fear that she would turn a corner and spot another planetary guardian; she had no idea what she'd do in that situation other than panic. Perhaps, as well, she was vigilant out of hope and a lingering desire for the familiar…

But the store was bustling, and quickly her mind was focused on what meals to prepare and how. She was a damn sight better at cooking that stupid Usagi, but still inexperienced. Nothing compared to Makoto, certainly.

She was lingering around the 'instant' type foods (cheap and easy - a good deal) when it happened.

A woman's shriek of terror sounded outside, and everyone in the store winced. Some turned towards the glass doors in curiosity, but Usagi stepped forward, heart rate speeding up, adrenaline beginning to pump into her veins. Other screams joined the first and soon Usagi had burst into a sprint, shopping basket forgotten on a shelf. She flew out the sliding doors and towards the screams of fear, stopping in her tracks when she caught sight of the disturbance.

Perched on top of a streetlight was something distinctly inhuman. It had two legs, and something akin to a face, but the arms and legs were at odd angles, and there was not a single color on its person that looked like natural skin. Its big eyes held just one solid color, a dark red, a disconcerting grin spread a little two far across its face, and one hand brandished some kind of sparking energy, most likely not of this world.

Usagi wished Diana was here, but cats and groceries don't really mix, so she was on her own. She ducked out of view and retrieved her compact from her jacket pocket,

"Moon crisis, make-up!" she called, summoning her old powers. Sufficiently powered up she dashed back out into the street, intent on the creature threatening people.

"Hey!" she barked.

She was payed no mind over all the commotion.

She whisked her way up onto a nearby awning, drawing almost level with the creature.

"Hey!" she shouted again, gaining the attention of a few passerby below her. She growled under her breath before trying again. "Hey, you big nasty thing!" it turned, head tilted in inquiry. "Yeah, you!" she confirmed, "What do you think you're doing?"

It blinked at her.

"Who are _you_?" it gurgled incredulously.

Usagi faltered - fifteen years old seemed a little old to be Sailor 'Chibi' Moon. But this had to be done!

"I am Sailor Neo Moon!" she concluded with what she hoped looked like confidence, "And in the name of the moon, past, present, and future, I will punish you!"

"With what?" the creature sneered.

This was a good question, Neo Moon realized: she didn't have any weapons. She gave herself a frantic pat-down, but found nothing.

"Uh-oh," she muttered.

An attack from the monster hit just to one side of her, almost throwing her off the awning, and now Usagi's heart was racing faster than it ever had before. She had to help these people! Though she noticed, to her slight relief, that the monster seemed to have terrible aim. It hadn't managed to hurt anyone. Yet.

"Small Lady!"

"Diana!" Usagi had never been happier to see the cat in her whole life.

"Your tiara! The queen used to use it to destroy low-level threats!"

"Hey! Who're you calling low-level?!" the monster snapped.

Neo Moon removed her headpiece and looked to Diana for help.

"Just say Moon Tiara Action," she explained.

With a nod Neo Moon leapt to her feet, brandishing the strap of gold.

"Moon Tiara Action!" she barked, flinging the tiara at the strange creature. Forming a swift gold blade the tiara sliced straight through the monstrosity, which seemed to melt into goo, pooling at the foot of the streetlight. Even as Usagi reached the puddled to investigate it had almost completely vanished away, but it still managed to gurgle ominously,

"More are coming…"

But in moments it was gone, dissolved into nothing.

Usagi looked around to find the general public staring at her, stunned.

"Uh… bye!" she chirped, tossing out a short wave before leaping away.

Her basket was still sitting on a nearby shelf when she made it back to the grocery store, and a quick pat down confirmed that her wallet had stayed in her pocket even through all the magical shenanigans. Diana was waiting for her when she stepped out of the store with her bags.

"Anything interesting out here?" she asked the cat quietly,

"Two people were kind enough to give me some pets, and five people said I was a pretty kitty."

Usagi smiled, but was soon reminded of her fight.

"So, I guess I was right," she mentioned, "there is a threat."

"It seems so," Diana agreed.

"And I don't have a weapon," Usagi frowned.

"You have your tiara."

"I guess," she allowed. "Ooh, I've gotta check out this store!"

Diana sat outside as Usagi ducked into a store.

When she returned she had purchased a small plush rabbit.

"Isn't it cute?" she beamed at Diana. The cat hopped up onto her shoulder and meowed an agreement. "I think I'll call it… Tsuki."


	3. Mystery Man

Usagi watched the papers and the news diligently for the next week, but nothing appeared. Even a few cursory glances of news websites didn't do her any good. With no leads, no weapon, no friends, and nothing to do, Usagi was getting restless.

"What should I be doing, Diana? I can't just be here to fight one little pile of goop!" she insisted, staring up at the ceiling. "Besides, even if that was all I was here for, wouldn't Mama or Papa have told me? Or at least sent me a message?"

"That does seem most likely," Diana agreed.

The strange guttural warning from the monster crossed Usagi's mind again: " _More are coming…_ " It did disturb her a little.

"This can't be all!" she decided, sitting up, "There's some other reason I'm here! Or at least there's more to this threat that one creepy sludge-demon."

She stood triumphant for a moment before realizing she did not actually have any idea what she would do about this. She considered for a moment, before coming to the most reasonable conclusion:

"Come on, Diana! Let's go look for trouble!"

"Small Lady?" Diana asked, confused, as Usagi gathered her things.

"You have a neat sort of cat-sense, right? You should be able to sense stuff!"

"I suppose…"

"Then let's go!"

Out in the world, the sky was somewhat gloomy, but the princess of the future was undeterred. Perhaps, while she was out, she could even get a nice lunch (instant noodles were getting old). For variety's sake, she took the train a ways out of town to broaden her horizons. She made sure she wasn't heading toward any of the past soldier's turf. In this new area she did some window-shopping, careful to curb any pricey urges as she was without a paying job and wasn't really sure if she could send home for more money or not. Though she had yet to find any apparent threats, she did find a nice, cheap lunch out. Her order didn't come out quite right, but still, she could make do (it was her own fault anyway, most likely).

Reinvigorated, she had an hour or so left in her, meandering with Diana, who meowed cheerfully to passers-by. They found a nice park to sit in, but after only a few moments, the sky began to drip. They had been avoiding it all day, but the looming rain of this cloudy day had finally caught up to them. And, in her confidence, Usagi had not brought an umbrella. In fact, she considered, she may not have even packed an umbrella to begin with!

The walk back to the station was wet, her shoes growing increasingly soaked and her feet growing increasingly sore. She even managed to hit rush hour, and stand for the whole trip home among other commuters and their wet coats or umbrellas. Standing in the packed car, trying not to loose her balance, Usagi had a lot of time to lament the pain in her feet, and the dampness of _all_ of her clothes, not to mention her heavy hair, and most painful of all the fruitlessness of her long day of wandering. Not a single monster, not a single clue, not a single nothing had come form her long, and increasingly unfortunate day.

Even as she managed to return to her dry apartment, she had barely five minutes of trying to dry off before the lights flickered, stopped for a few seconds, and went out.

"Oh come on," she whined almost involuntarily, standing half-dressed in a dark bathroom. She made a distraught noise as she tried to remember the layout of the apartment, but after only a week she was not well equipped to navigate the rooms in the dark. Even stepping into a room with windows wasn't much help, as the sun had all but set, and the thick clouds were no good for natural light.

"Small Lady?" Diana squeaked.

"Yeah?" Usagi responded, a bit more bite to her tone than was worth turning on the sweet cat.

"The power's gone out."

Usagi sighed.

"Uh-huh," she agreed, "it has." She moved forward, hands out-stretched in an effort to find furniture before she ran into it, and shuffled her way around the apartment, looking for some form of flashlight. The first thing she managed to find was her phone, lying on the coffee table, which she promptly stubbed her toe on. She used the phone's dim screen as a sort of light, but she knew the charge needed to be preserved. She checked as many cabinets as she could think to check, but found no flashlight. Defeated, she shuffled to her bed and curled up under the covers, trying to make up for her lack of real clothes. She massaged her sore toe, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Twenty or thirty minutes into the blackout, her stomach growled sharply, reminding her that without power, there was no dinner.

"Are outages more common in old Tokyo?" Usagi asked.

Diana, somewhere else in the dark, replied,

"I do not know, Small Lady."

A clap of thunder shook the building, and Usagi cowered.

"I hate thunder," she muttered. A moment later she felt the warm, solid form of a cat curled up beside her. She pulled a hand from her pile of blankets to pet Diana, finding solace in having another living being nearby. After a few more minutes of waiting, Diana perked up, looked around a moment, and leapt lightly off the bed.

"Diana?" Usagi asked, "What is it?" she hoped the answer wasn't 'you smell' or something.

"I sense something."

"You do?" Usagi perked up. If they made some progress against the enemy, maybe today wasn't a total, painful loss.

"You should transform, and we'll go find it."

Another roll of thunder passed overhead and the sheets of rain outside the window seemed to get thicker.

"In this weather?!" Usagi asked.

Diana gave her a sharp look, all of the scant light in the room managing to reflect off her feline eyes. For a moment, Usagi could see how she was related to Luna.

"Ok!" she accepted, fumbling through the room for her jacket to retrieve the compact.

"Moon crisis, make-up!" she called, the magic washing over her.

However short the skirt of the sailor uniform, however revealing it might be on occasion, it was still warmer than her half-dressed state she'd managed before the power went out.

Diana and Usagi sprinted through the rain, in search of the mysterious whatever-it-was that Diana was sensing.

"There!" Diana shouted, coming around a corner before Usagi.

Usagi slid to a stop to find another strange, discolored humanoid, similar to the one from the streetlight. The creature, electric blue and yellow, for the most part, had its back to her, and its hand coiled up in power lines.

"Is it… syphoning power?" Usagi asked.

"I'm not sure," Diana admitted.

Usagi steeled her resolve and took a powerful stance,

"Hold it right there!" she barked, gaining the monster's attention, "I can't allow you to keep the nearby people from making their dinner or heating their homes! Pretty soldier in a sailor suit, Sailor Neo Moon is here! And in the name of the moon, past, present, and future I will make you pay!"

The creature turned to face her and cocked its head in interest.

"Energy?" it gurgled, its solid-colored eyes fixed on her.

"Huh?"

The monster didn't wait for a response. Its free hand stretched out, forming sparking cords. Neo Moon tried to dodge, but was only half-successful. A sharp crack rent the air as the charged wires made contact. She tumbled to the ground unharmed, but her bare hand hit the asphalt.

Neo Moon stared at her right hand: her glove was gone! So, for that matter, was her right boot; she had only her day-to-day shoe on that foot. Then the light hit her compact and caught her eye.

The compact was cracked right down the middle.

"Oh no," she breathed, but she didn't have long to worry about it. The cords whipped toward her again and Neo Moon ran.

"Small Lady! You must fight!" Diana insisted, racing along beside her.

"I can't!" Usagi replied, "The compact is broken!"

"You can't let that stop you!"

Usagi took a deep breath.

"Ok." She pulled to a stop, facing the monster, prepared to fight.

The monster smacked her right across the middle, knocking her to the ground.

Usagi groaned in pain. She couldn't do this. This creature wasn't even particularly powerful, but here she was, lying on the ground, with no weapon and a broken compact. She was almost resigned to whatever the charged wires flying towards her face would do to her, when the monster's arm was hit and forced away from her. Her attention shot to whatever had hit the monster, and she found a white rose stuck into the ground. Hope leapt in her chest as she turned to the owner of the projectile. Could it be-?

No. She did not find Tuxedo Mask perched atop a nearby wall, but, in his place, stood a young man clad in white, a golden mask over his eyes. He stared her down from behind the mask, and she knew what she needed to do. The monster was still glowering at the man in white when she leapt to her feet.

"Moon tiara action!" she shouted into the night, hurling the golden disk at her enemy and catching it off-guard. The monster was sliced through and dispersed into wiggling electrical wires, which, in turn, dissolved away into nothing.

She turned back to where the stranger in white had been, but he was gone. And it was still raining. And her compact was broken. And she mismatched shoes and a handful of cuts and bruises. She let her legs fold under her and sat on the concrete street for a moment, head hung low.

"What am I doing, Diana?" she asked rhetorically.

"Small Lady, look!" Diana chirped, placing a gentle paw on her knee.

Usagi followed the cat's gaze to find windows beginning to glow a warm yellow again, the streetlights on their abandoned street coming on one by one. The world hummed back into electrical life. Usagi picked up her cat and started towards home.

Later, dressed in warm, dry, pajamas and sipping broth out of a styrofoam cup while watching the news, Usagi would begin to tune out, and wonder if she was really up for this task.


	4. Yuko Kiyomizu

Usagi had not slept well. She stared up at the ceiling with contempt as her alarm beeped indecently. She shut it off, expression unchanging.

"Good morning, Small Lady!" Diana chirped, ever cheerful. Usagi could not share the sentiment. She was tired down to her very soul after the previous day and night's events. The broken compact loomed in her mind. She sighed.

"Diana," she said, "I think I need a 'me' day."

Diana seemed a little confused.

"It's been a long week," Usagi continued, "and I'm going to treat myself. At least a little."

Usagi prepared to face the day, and checked her wallet; she wasn't in dire straights yet. Diana on her shoulder and her cracked compact in her pocket she set a course for the Crown Game Center. She needed something familiar, and that would have to do. The outdoors helped boost her spirits a little, even if it was damp out, and she enjoyed a leisurely walk around.

Though she'd eaten breakfast, her sweet tooth was sharp, and she was drawn to a cute little bakery that she happened to pass by.

"Can I help you?" the girl behind the counter asked as Usagi looked over the options in the case. Some small cookies caught her eye. Cute and cheap - perfect!

"Could I get a half-dozen cookies, please?"

"Certainly!" the girl chirped.

The transaction was quick and easy, and even just the ambiance of the bakery lifted Usagi's move.

"Thank you very much!" she called to the girl as she left. Walking down the sidewalk, she quickly succumbed to the temptation of the cookies and took a bite. They were delicious, and somehow… nostalgic?

Usagi was just out of sight of the bakery's windows when the proprietor stepped out from the kitchens.

"Who was that?" she asked the young girl working the register.

"Oh! Ms. Kino! I didn't know you were listening! I don't know who that was. I've never seen her around before."

"Huh," Ms. Kino accepted, "The voice sounded familiar, was all."

* * *

The game center was the same and different all at once. It had been a few years since she last visited old Tokyo, so the game cabinets were different and some furnishings had been replaced, while others were starting to show their age. Usagi was drawn easily and inevitably to a Sailor Moon game, hoping to try her luck. There was something funny to her about playing this game, with off-brand versions of monsters she'd encountered, and Sailor Moon didn't even have the right weapon! It may have been some bastardization of the spiral heart moon rod, but it was hard to tell. She tried and failed to do very well at the game. Perhaps she had too much on her mind. But still, the game obliged her and dropped a prize.

Usagi looked the sudden gift over. That was odd, she didn't think the game was supposed to do that. It had given her… something. Something predominately pink, with a heart about the size of her palm on the top. The heart was decorated with a crescent moon, following the curve on one half of the heart. She looked the prize over some more; was it a pen? A flashlight? Pointless kitsch?! It did look a lot like the game's off-model weapon…

"The game gave you something too?"

Usagi jolted at the perky voice beside her. She looked over to find a girl sitting one cabinet away from her, smiling. She had blue hair tied up in a tight bun, and had somehow managed to master the casual-chic look. Usagi was sure the loose-fitting top draped lazily over her shoulders was a very purposeful fashion statement.

"It gave me this neat pen!" the girl explained, holding up something that looked far more like a pen that whatever it was Usagi was holding. It was a light blue device, decorated on one end with a star. Emblazoned on the star was a symbol Usagi didn't recognize: almost identical to the symbol for venus, but the cross on the bottom was attached to a diamond, not a circle or a heart as it would usually be. Usagi's interest in the symbol must have been evident, because the girl went on.

"Do you want to look at it?"

"Only if you don't mind!" Usagi responded quickly.

"Sure, take a look!"

The girl handed the pen over and Usagi looked for any signs of something unusual. Nothing leapt out, maybe this was just some knock-off sailor guardian merchandise.

"I'm Kiyomizu Yuko, by the way."

"Shizukesa Usagi," Usagi returned as an introduction. "I just moved here," she added quickly, before Kiyomizu could ask any questions.

"Cool! I've lived here my whole life," Kiyomizu Yuko explained, "though sometimes I feel like I've lived other places, too."

Suddenly, some how, some way, Usagi's mother's voice echoed through her mind:

"Make some friends!"

"Uh, w-would you like a cookie?" Usagi asked, holding the bag out, "I got them from a bakery a few blocks away. They're pretty good."

"Ooh! Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Usagi assured her, "sharing is caring, right?"

"Aw, you're so nice!" she beamed, taking a cookie. "Wow, these are wonderful! Oh, are they from that new bakery? Ah, what's it called… Sazanka Pastries! I've only been once, but it looks so good! Sweets are my favorite, so I try to keep tabs on all the best places to stock up."

"I like sweets too," Usagi admitted, "probably more than anything else! If it weren't for cavities and gaining weight, I'd probably eat nothing but sweets."

"You know what? You can call me Yuko," the girl decided, "all my friends do, and if you share cookies with me, you're my friend!"

"Really?" for a brief moment Usagi's heart leapt at having any friends at all, "Thanks so much! You can call me Usagi."

"Great! Thanks for the cookie, Usagi!" her colorful kids' watch beeped at her. "Whoops! Time to get home! See you around?"

"Of course!" Usagi smiled. She'd need to come back to the arcade.

With her new friend gone, some change wasted, and an odd, pink something in her hand, Usagi headed home, her heart a little lighter than when she woke up that morning.

* * *

Kiyomizu Yuko was often the first or the last person in the Crown Game Center every day, and on rare occasions she was both. This morning, she was early. She was very comfortable with the near-silence of the game center, with only the soft beeping of the cabinets to keep her company. She had once again reached that one point of the Sailor Moon game that always tripped her up when she heard a muttering. One ear kept drifting toward the quiet conversation, even as she tried to concentrate, and when that one darn boss finally did her in again she resorted to full-on eavesdropping. She was no stranger to pretending to play while listening in on conversations, that was how she picked up on a lot of the latest nerd-gossip, but this was a far more serious tone.

"…spike in the energy readings, as strong as the potential haul from ten ordinary humans. You're sure it's worth it?"

An even lower, staticky, inaudible voice responded, but what was said she couldn't know.

"Understood. I'll release a culture."

Yuko's interest was piqued, and she crept towards the voice. She hesitated when a strange squelching sound reached her ears, but she rounded the corner just in time to see a flicker of light and a humanoid form rise from a puddle of dark blue slime. She didn't think, she didn't act, she couldn't help it: Yuko screamed.

* * *

Usagi froze, toothbrush jammed into the back of her mouth.

"Something's wrong," she said. Though, through the mouthful of toothpaste it came out more like "Shumshushs hrong." With the ease of adrenaline mixed with years of experience she threw on real pants to replace her pajamas and a hoodie over her pajama top, forcing her feet into comfortable shoes and running out the door, Diana sprinting beside her, the pink hunk of plastic from the arcade clutched in her mouth.

Usagi found in herself an innate sense of where the danger was, stronger than she'd ever felt before, and hurtled herself towards the game center. Was this a normal part of being a guardian? Did Sailor Moon feel this tug every time a creature appeared? Rattle of her compact in her pocket caught her ear, and a knot formed in her stomach. Would she even be able to transform? What if she couldn't? The worries bubbled in her mind even as she raced towards the fight.

* * *

Yuko's heart was beating hard and fast in her chest as she was backed up against an arcade cabinet, the slimy creature looming over her. She was out of places to go; the creature's gangly, goopy arms could catch her witchier side she tried to dodge. There was a warmth in her pocket. The creature flicked an arm and it hardened into a sharp edge, its shape becoming almost like pixels. The arm was slashed in her direction, loosing a projectile that, once lodged in the cabinet just beside her, seemed familiar. There was something heating up in her pocket. Yuko dodged another attack before it dawned on her: it looked just like the projectiles that tough Sailor Moon boss threw! Down to the limited colors and the squared, pixelated edges!

The heat in her pocket could no longer be ignored. It felt almost like an overheated laptop battery burning into her leg. She reached in for the root cause of the problem and found the light blue pen that the game machine had given her the day before. The symbol emblazoned on the star-tip was glowing brightly, and it somehow filled her with new resolve. Yuko dodged to one side of the monster, somehow catching it off-guard, and some powerful, unknown knowledge from the back of her mind pulled words from her mouth:

"Pallas star power, make up!"

A warm, tingling, surge of power consumed her, feeling somehow like sliding into a warm bath and plunging into an icy lake all at the same time, and Yuko stood transformed before the creature in a blue sailor guardian's uniform. The monster froze, startled, and Yuko took a moment to take in her new look. But, with a roar, the creature shook off its surprise, flinging another projectile at her. Yuko yelped, jerking away from the attack.

* * *

Usagi rounded the corner and bolted down towards the game center, heart racing in her chest. The question still burned in the back of her mind: what if she couldn't transform? What could she do without her powers? And then the moment was upon her and there was no more time to think. Her compact was broken, she had crossed the threshold of the game center, and there was another creature, poised to attack. The sound of the sliding door and her pounding feet was enough to get the creature's attention, and it turned on her, growling. Usagi felt more helpless than she ever had since becoming a sailor guardian. The monster's smooth, glinting eyes stared her down, imbued with a deep menace, and she had no powers, no magic, nothing and no one. She was utterly alone.

"Pallas bubble pop!"

A ball of water came up behind the creature and smacked it in the back of the head, bursting painfully against it.

Enraged, the monster turned and flung a sharp weapon at its assailant, throwing her into the wall.

"Yuko!" Usagi yelped, recognizing the girl. "Hey!" she shouted, gaining the creature's attention, "Don't hurt my friend!" she barked, running at it and leaping into the air. Her leg swung around and her boot made contact with the creature's mushy face.

She landed on her hands and knees. The creature let out a moan of pain. The white of her gloves registered in her mind.

"I transformed," she realized, "I transformed!" she beamed at Diana, before the monster tossed a projectile at her, barely missing her head. Usagi squeaked in terror and ducked over to Yuko. "Yuko? Yuko, are you ok?"

"Whu-? I- I'm fine, yeah," Yuko stammered.

"Ok, good." Content that her friend would be alright, Usagi took hold of her tiara and faced the monster. "In the name of the moon, past, present and future-"

A pixelated arm snapped out and smacked the tiara from her hand, sending it flying across the game center.

"Uh-oh."

The monster roared, lunging towards her, and reared back in startled pain, a gash across it's face. Usagi's eyes followed the gash to another white rose, stuck in the floor tiles.

"Sailor Neo Moon! Now!" barked a male voice.

"Now what?!" she shot back at the white-clad man of mystery. "I'm not even sure where the tiara is!"

"Small lady!" Diana chirped, tossing her the pink stick.

Usagi gripped the stick and looked up at the monster. There was nothing else for it. The words bubbled up in her throat and she forced herself to her feet, pointing the strange object at the monster.

"Sweet moon heart escalation!" a burst of pink exploded from the heart and moon on the top of the stick and Usagi stumbled slightly from the recoil. As the creature crumbled she caught the motion of the white, masked figure and dashed out onto the sidewalk, hoping to catch him.

The sidewalk was empty.

Usagi heard the door whish open again and turned to find Yuko, Sailor Pallas, looking at her expectantly.

"Sailor Neo Moon, right?" she prompted. She looked different in her uniform. Her hair was no longer just up in a bun, but there were four braids hanging off her head, tipped with spheres.

"Yeah," Usagi replied.

"So, uh, could you explain what's going on?"

"Sure," Usagi assured her as a strange tingling crept down her arm, gaining her attention. Her glove was unravelling, and as she looked closer her boots were falling back down into her normal shoes. The transformation was wearing off. "But, let's go inside, ok?" she offered, herding Yuko back into the game center.


End file.
